Obscure and not-so-obscure manga

The ICv2 folks have posted their list of the top 50 manga properties, and not surprisingly, Naruto tops the list, followed by Fruits Basket, Death Note, Bleach—the usual suspects. Queenie Chan’s In Odd We Trust shows up at a very respectable number 11, and Gantz shows up in last place. The list is based on the monthly Diamond sales numbers and BookScan top 20 lists, plus “interviews with retailers and distributors,” which adds a certain squish factor. They also do a bit of analysis of the anime and manga markets; here’s what they have to say about manga:

Meanwhile in the manga space, sales appear to have been stable to up a little in the first half of 2008, although significant cuts in the number of new releases in the second half of the year may change that picture. New series are doing well, with six new series in ICv2’s Top 50 Manga Properties for the early summer period, based on sales through all channels.

From the buyer’s perspective, Lori Henderson just put in her August order (for October releases) and her wallet didn’t take too much of a beating this time.

Erica Friedman has the latest news from the world of yuri, including a link to Seven Seas’ reassurance that the Strawberry line is still going, although it looks like they are reassessing the light novel part of it, and several titles are on hold for various reasons.

Melinda Beasi explains why you should give Banana Fish a try, and she has a few samples so you can see for yourself.

Japanator’s Dick McVengeance finds five manga series whose WTF?? factor will likely keep them from ever being licensed. And Canned Dogs looks at another unlicensed manga, Koe de oshigoto! Enjoy!